Ford's Turkish joint venture hit by labor dispute

EmrePeker

ISTANBUL--Ford Motor Co.'s
F, +1.55%
Turkish joint-venture has halted production at a factory as a two-week labor dispute continues to disrupt manufacturing at major Western auto companies.

"Labor actions started today at noon time at our Eskişehir İnönü plant and blue-collar workers have not left the plant. As a precautionary measure, manufacturing operations at our İnönü Plant have been temporarily suspended until further notice," local venture Ford Otomotiv Sanayi AS (FROTO.IS) said late Monday in a statement to the stock exchange.

The news comes after Tofas Turk Otomobil Fabrikasi AS (TOASO.IS), manufacturer of Fiat, Citroën, Peugeot, Opel and Vauxhall vehicles, said on Friday it has resumed production after a week of suspensions caused by strikes.

The protests, which have also hit other plants in Bursa, the production center for Turkey's auto manufacturing business, began at Renault SA's (RNO.FR) biggest plant outside Western Europe when workers on the first shift Friday May 15 downed tools and demanded higher wages.

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